I recently read a post by Dave wherein he basically says he’s going to drive the speed limit and if you don’t like it, then that’s just tough.

I read another post by rainycamp over at Bike Noob wherein he marvels at the general looniness of drivers.

I’m right there on board with Dave. I drive the speed limit, give (or even take) a couple mph. Sometimes, when I’m passing I even drive the speed limit in the passing lane (note it’s called the “passing lane” and not the “speeding lane”). Yes. I’m that guy. *gasp* The horror! The aggravation obvious in the wild gesticulations, disgusted shaking of heads and clearly mouthed epithets of those behind me wishing to push the limits of officer tolerance do nothing to sway me. Believe me, you’ll get where you’re going, and not only will you do it with less risk of catastrophe, but you’re likely shaving more seconds off the end of your life from the stress of raging at me, than you’re losing due to my abhorrent adherence to the speed limit. So calm down, relax, and enjoy your extra life.

I also understand where rainycamp is coming from. There have been precious few trips I’ve made in my car where I didn’t witness someone doing something either remarkably stupid, or utterly ineffectual and inefficient.

We’ve all seen drivers peel away at stop lights only to have to stop at the next one a block or two away. What a sad waste of gas and increased wear & tear.

We’ve all seen drivers jockey for position with sudden and rapid repeated lane changes, only to find themselves stopped at the same light as we are, having gained all of a single car length advantage.

We’ve all seen drivers swerve across three lanes of 65+mph traffic to make the exit they weren’t paying attention to.

We’ve all seen drivers reading while they drive. Or putting on make-up. Or eating with both hands. Or texting. Or fully turned around to smack a kid up in the backseat.

We’ve all seen the driver pass us at +20mph on the highway, only to end up alongside us after an exit ramp, or the stop light when we reach town, or better yet, on the side of the road being ticketed for speeding, thus losing all their speed advantage, and some of their money to boot.

Witnessing those, and other completely pointless acts of idiocy never fails to completely baffle me. I know it shouldn’t. I know I should be cynical and jaded enough that such things no longer surprise me, but I can’t help it. I’m constantly amazed at what seems to be such criminally willful stupidity and a complete lack of situational and consequential awareness.

Furthermore, riding a bike makes obvious through my own physical efforts the physics of movement, momentum and speed, and the cost of acceleration. I carry those lessons over to my driving, and have, as a consequence, made conscious and concerted efforts to eliminate idiocy from my own driving. I’m sure there are a few things (more than a few, likely) that I still do that I’ll eventually correct… my education isn’t finished, but it’s on its way.

Some of the things I do in an attempt to create a safe, effective and efficient trip for myself (because all I can control is my own actions) include, but are not exclusive to:

• Plan well ahead to minimize lane changes, thus reducing the risk of collision.
• Use my turn signal. Yes. I really do. In fact, I take it one step further and use my turn signal to alert other drivers of my intention. That’s right. I use it to tell other drivers what I want to do, not what I am doing. Note the difference there. It’s subtle, I know, but it’s critical. I like to think people appreciate it, but I doubt it.
• If I miss my turn, I don’t scream across three lanes to make it at the last possible second… I skip it, take the next turn, and back track. No big deal. I lose a few minutes, but I don’t present an undue threat, compound the already significant risks involved, or increase natural stress level inherent to the speeds at which we travel (no one gets road ragey with me when I make relaxed, gradual and advertised lane changes).
• Set the cruise control at the speed limit to eliminate the risk of a ticket, and to remove the additional distraction of having to worry about my speed. Yes, I do this everywhere and at all times save inclement weather.
  • I’ve not found any documentation to say it increases wear on modern transmissions and engines at lower speeds as it used to.
  • I maintain my foot in position in case of the need to suddenly brake (which I’m more able to observe, given that I’m not worried about my speed).
  • I refuse to be intimidated by tailgating. If someone chooses to tailgate me, that’s their choice. I won’t speed for them, nor will I change lanes out of their way any faster or slower than were they not tailgating. This includes periods of time during which I’m passing other drivers in the passing lane. Folk are free to tailgate, but it’s not on me if there’s a collision and I’m behaving in an otherwise safe and law-abiding manner. Besides, I’m due for a new car anyway. I won’t make special arrangements for tailgaters one way or the other. Tailgating me increases the risk of collision without introducing a corresponding benefit. Were that more people opted not to capitulate to highway intimidation tactics (aka, bullying).
  • Driving the speed limit everywhere may give rise to the opinion that I’m an “Old Fogey”, or even an “A$$hole.” That’s fine. It’s just an opinion, and that particular one is meaningless to me.
• Generally speaking, I’ve made attempts to start thinking of myself as part of a system, rather than an individual. Sure, I, like everyone else, have my own agenda and destination, but until I reach it, I’m just one small, relatively insignificant part of a much larger and incomprehensibly complex whole.

The other day I came up behind a minivan with a few odds and ends on the back that amused me. First, near the top was an obviously home printed sign taped to the inside of the rear window that read “What is the speed limit?”. Below that, and above the license plate was another sign that read “I’m retired.” Below the license plate was another that read “Go around me.” Finally, attached to the hitch was a hand held palm out and all fingers extended as if to say “Hold” or “Back off.”

It amused me. I laughed. And I followed at the speed limit at a safe distance.

A judge found Marvin Oberly guilty last week of driving on the wrong side of a two-way highway and passing a vehicle on the wrong side. Douglas Kenney died of [the tragic and needless] injuries he suffered in the accident on Nov. 9, 2007 [due to Oberly’s utterly irresponsible and reckless actions].

Oberly is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 30. He faces [a paltry] 30 days in jail for each of the counts and up to a year suspension [rather than the far more just complete and permanent revocation] of his drivers license. [It is left as an exercise for the reader to rationalize how 60 days in jail and a year's suspension balances out the irresponsibility and recklessness that resulted in Kenney's death.]

Prosecutors argued that Oberly drove up behind Kenney in his pickup and collided with the bicycle Kenney, who was riding his bicycle in a manner consistent with safety and law.

Oberly testified provided the lame and weak excuse during his trial that glare from the sun prevented him from seeing Kenney[, which would have been inconsequential had be been driving on the correct side of the road and not passed another vehicle on the shoulder].

Original here.

The typical car driver doesn’t understand what it’s like to be a bicyclist on the road. The typical bicyclist doesn’t understand what it’s like to drive a semi. How many of us understand what it’s like to drive a bus? Some, to be sure, but not most. What about a garbage truck? 30′ moving vans? Fully laden cement mixers?

As I spend more time as one of the smaller, more vulnerable users of the road, I spend more time thinking about such things. I’m coming to believe that in order to operate a vehicle on todays roads, we should be required to have a deeper understanding of what it’s like to operate a wide variety of vehicles. That means licensing.

What prompted this line of thinking was the many times drivers, in vehicles of all sizes, display an obvious lack of understanding of what it’s like to be me, on a bicycle, sharing the road with them, in their much larger enclosed vehicle. They wait for me to pass when I’m hundreds of feet away (not a horrible thing), or they perceive me going slower than I am and pull out right in front of me – even when it’s clear they see me. They pass without giving me adequate room, or endanger themselves by giving me too much room. These experiences and many more tell me that many drivers just don’t understand what it’s like to take a bike to the roads.

Then I took this logic to the next step. Sure, they don’t understand what it’s like to be me, but do we understand what it’s like to be high up in a semi, or dragging a heavy garbage truck or cement mixer around the city streets, or a school bus full of children? Wouldn’t it help us all to really *know* what it’s like for the rest of the drivers on our shared roads?

Though I doubt it will ever come to pass, in the ideal world, I think we should all be licensed to operate all legally operational vehicles that share the roads with us. Maybe that would go somewhere towards giving us the understanding and empathy that is so lacking on the roads today. Probably not, but it can’t hurt, and it may just make people take driving a little less for granted, and a little more seriously.

When I started commuting, all of two months ago, I mentally prepared myself for all manner of flak and hooliganism from the barely controlled jackals driving around on Kansas City’s roads. So far, the worst I’ve had are cars passing within the 3′ boundary. They’re just a *little* too close for comfort, but I’ve never been crowded off the road. Furthermore, in every case, I’ve been able to understand, if not excuse, their reasoning. The honking has always been polite (a quick beep vs. a long blaring bray) or well after they already passed (a greeting vs. a warning or a poor excuse for a joke). All in all, I’ve had a fantastic experience, especially when compared to others who report hideous atrocities with alarming regularity.

Happy and safe riding all! Think of my on my hamster wheel all week…

Additionally, it touches on the idea of “Vehicular” or “Integrated” cycling, which is a theory/belief/behavioral system stating that bicycles should obey all the laws of the road as if they were cars.

I fall somewhere to the outside of that. While I do believe that it is important to behave as if you were a car in most situations, I recognize, for both safety and convenience reasons, that sometimes it is either impossible to adhere to strict compliance, or prohibitively inconvenient to do so.

The most common situation I’ve come across, an example of convenience and one that I face daily, is traffic signals. Consider this: I come up to a signaled intersection consisting of three lanes going in my direction, a left turn only, a straight only, and a right turn only lane. I intend to either go straight, or turn left. Due to my weight, my size, or the amount of detectable metal in my bicycle (vehicle), the signal is not tripped. If there are no other cars visible in any direction, I will sit there indefinitely until 1. a car comes going either in my direction, or the opposite in such a way that the signal is tripped, or 2. I cross the right turn lane, hit the pedestrian walk button, and cross back over into the straight travel lane to wait fo the signal to change. It’s not clear to me if I’m not allowed to make that lane traversal, but it is clear to me that doing so both increases my risk, and is difficult on a heavy commuter bike. So, I’m stuck waiting for another car. Alternatively, given that the signal is in place to increase the safety and flow of traffic, if there are no other cars around, I typically take the option of simply riding through the (red) light and going on my way, comfortable that while I may have broken the language of the law, I’ve not broken it’s spirit.

An example where disobeying the laws of vehicular traffic due to safety concerns doesn’t come to mind immediately.

Discuss.